This paper explores a model for self-assessment of purchasing maturity in large companies. The author adapts contemporary purchasing theory and further enhances existing tools and procedures to create a survey based instrument for maturity measurementThe paper also explores potential methodological challenges associated with conducting a more extensive study of purchasing maturity via the proposed model. A preliminary study is made and the learnings discussed.The preliminary findings of the survey indicate that the purchasing maturity varies with industry. The purchasing function average score was found to be 3,4 out of 6 with samples spread across the whole spectra ? agreeing with previous theories stating that the purchasing maturity is highly varied between different industries..

AbstractMaster thesis of one year in Business Administration, Swedish Business School at Örebro university,Marketing, HT 2011.Authors: Grunér, Linus and Malm, Ludwig Tutor:Pia Lindell Title:Brand building and creating relationships ? A study of a small business in the B2B market Keywords:Brand building, business relationships, SME, B2B. Problem:How does a small business in the B2B market work with brand building and creating relationships? What critical factors can be identified regarding the process of relationship-building and brand building within the context of a small business in the B2B market? Research objective:The purpose of this study is to use existing research to create understanding for how a company in the B2B market is working with relationship-building and brand building. The study also aims to identify any critical factors concerning the process of relationship-building and brand building.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether placement, using a special display, of ecological products, will have an effect on consumer buying behaviour and thereby sales of these products. When talking about sales we refer to the amount of ecological products that are being bought, habitual and unplanned, as a response due to the placement of the products in-store. To further elucidate the purpose, the thesis will focus on if the placement of the products itself will have an impact on the customers? attitude towards buying ecological products. A deductive approach was applied where we did a quantitative study using triangulation to receive data to reveal if the placement of ecological products had any effect on the sales of these products.

This report treats two assignments that concerns the biofuel furnace at Billerud Skärblacka AB and how these assignments were solved. The assignments were: reducing the number of CO-spikes and tuning the overfire air control loop. To reduce the number of CO-spikes the possibility that skewness in mass distribution affects the number of CO-spikes were study. The skewnwss of mass distribution was controled and adjusted with two experiments. The conclusion that was made is that the skewness of mass distribution were not sufficient enough to affect the number of CO-spikes.

The aim of my study is to get an idea of how some teachers use homework, what they consider a good homework is, and what considerations they take to the students' home circumstances. I have made a qualitative interview study with four middle school teachers. The results of my study show that teachers can flip the classroom and use so-called preparatory tasks. The time saving aspect is a strong reason they choose that model. That students are able to practice their own responsibility and perform meaningful homework seems to also be in focus, but the biggest reason they use flipped classrooms seems to be because it is a more equivalent homework then traditional homework, and that students and their guardians also appreciate the flipped classroom model as they become more involved in their children's schoolwork..

One fundamental principle in Swedish contract law is that passive acceptance does not constitute a binding acceptance of an offer. Still, business owners use the consumers unknowing of this, and form offers saying passivity will lead to a binding agreement. Business owners are thus trying to ?negatively bind? the consumer to agreements. There are rules prohibiting this kind of actions in the Swedish marketing law (MFL).In order to find out what constitutes this forbidden kind of agreement-entering according to the Swedish Market Court, an analysis of seven cases settled between 2002-2009 and concerning consumers in these situations, is made.

In the light of ever increasing international trade around the globe, affecting men and women in all countries, it is surprising that so little attention is given its gender effects. The effects of trade are said to be gender neutral, but could potentially act reinforcing on the existing gender patterns in a society. The aim of this thesis is to examine whether the implications for men and women in relation to trade liberalization can be found to differ. By stylizing some differences between men and women, this is done by examining the theoretical implications mainly via the Heckscher-Ohlin model and through a Beckerian approach. The implications found are then compared with the findings in existing empirical work.

This bachelor thesis in mechanical engineering was performed during the spring2015 in collaboration with Composite Consulting Group in Laholm. TheComposites Consulting Group works mainly with design and details of differentcomposite projects, their main area is FE-calculations, 3D-modelling andmechanical tests with composite materials.The aim of this bachelor thesis was to simplify the calculation process of solidmechanics for sandwich panels by simulation with computer software. The goalwas to decrease the time for the design and calculation process of the constructionand the cost of the practical tests. Our task was to build a static three dimensionalmodel with the computer software Abaqus, where the result should correspondwith the practical pressure tests in laboratory.The project started with collection of material data from Composites ConsultingGroup and by learning the software Abaqus, simultaneously a specification wasdeveloped in corporation with the company. Later on, a static wheel pressuremodel in the software Abaqus was produced which simulated the behavior of thesandwich panel during static wheel-pressure by a pallet truck.

This essay examines the using of consensus method for decision making within the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the process that led to the decision to adopt its usage. The main question of my essay is why the method was introduced to the WCC and what motives lay behind its introduction. Other questions are how the consensus method works; both in theory and in practice, and what the predecessors and prototypes for the method are.The consensus method belongs to a broad Christian tradition of spiritual discernment and spiritual decision making. The New Testament, in particular Acts, gives examples of decision making in the early church which show that discerning God's will was considered essential. However the most influential model for the consensus method have been the decision making process of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers, and also the consensus model of the Uniting Church in Australia.

The personal brand derives from the marketing brand, and argues that a person can take control over other people?s perceptions about him or her. The personal brand can benefit the person but it can also give advantages to his or her company. The interest in, and the purpose of the personal brand, has increased the last ten years. Leaders of large companies in Sweden consider it to be of utmost importance to have an influence on their co-workers.

This master thesis deals with problems in the arc length control in Pulsed MIG/MAG Welding. The main problem is that it is not possible to measure the arc length. In the present solution the voltage over both the electrode and the arc represents the arc length. To improve the arc length control a model of the electrode melting has been built. One output from the model is the voltage over the electrode and with this voltage together with the measured voltage it is possible to calculate the voltage over just the arc.

Apple has since their launch of the Iphone series created a billion dollar business with the market place Appstore. Third-party apps have disrupted the mobile industry, attracted a high number of developers and set the standard for the industry. Despite success, this market has yet not been the topic of any academic study, a fact that makes this thesis important. Under the assumption that apps can be regarded as a service, traditional service marketing theories have been applied with the research goal to map existing business models, evaluate revenue potential and understand best practices of marketing techniques. A series of qualitative interviews with representatives from the difference business models, backed by secondary data describing the domain shows how the Appstore has evolved over time and which marketing practices that appear successful.

Upon marketing the system in Europe and the USA cost savings generated from reduced work force have been prevailing. Since the cost of labour is much lower in the Asia Pacific region other factors have to be stressed. The parameters of flexibility and quality assurance may however cover any initial investment in a production system. Our purpose is to value flexibility and quality in a manufacturing context, applied to DAS, in order to use it in investment calculations. In order to make an adequate estimation of different companies, due to problems associated with acquiring correct figures, the Key Success Factors needs to be examined so that the gathering of numbers can be conducted with more focus.

Business incubation is an important force of economic development but relatively unheard of in organization theory. This is partly due to the fact that in organization theory, meta-organization or the organization of organizations has been neglected or left lagging as much theorization has been focused on organizing individuals. With the growing number of business incubators, and meta-organizations in general, the need for understanding a relatively new type of organization is prevalent.This case study of the business incubator Global Business Labs Botswana (GBL) aims to clarify the organizational differences among meta-organizations and traditional organizations on a case level, as well as explain the underlying factors for these dissimilarities. With respect to the nature of this case study no general conclusions are drawn from the results. The inference, however, is that the organization of GBL and its incubated companies differs from the traditional organization in five elementary aspects: the weak hierarchical structure, the operational autonomy of its members, the strong focus on recruitment processes, the member identity and the lack of formal sanctions.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to examine librarians attitudes and values when it comes to the question if a new media, video games, should be introduced at the library or not. Video games are here seen as media primarily for youths. In our study we also wanted to study the discussions of quality and purchase, when computer games were introduced at the library. In order to answer our questions we conducted nine interviews with librarians working with children and youths, in eight libraries. By analysing their statements, using Maj Klassons theory where she defines the librarians role in three different strategies, we could demonstrate how the librarians reason when it comes to video and computer games, youths, quality and purchase.